--- title: "Iain David Johnston | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/iain-david-johnston" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Iain David Johnston U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois - State: Illinois - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - United States district judge for the Northern District of Illinois, appointed in September 2020 to replace Frederick J. Kapala - He previously was a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the same court from 2013 to 2020 - Administrative law judge, Illinois State Police, 2006-2013 - Adjunct professor, John Marshall Law School, 1996-1999, 2008, 2010, 2012 - Administrative law judge, Illinois Department of Insurance, 2006 - General counsel, Waubonsee Community College, 1998-1999 - Assistant attorney general, State of Illinois, 1993-1998 - Law clerk, Hon. Philip G. Reinhard, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 1992 - Law clerk, Hon. Philip G. Reinhard, Illinois Appellate Court, Second District, 1990-1992 - Law clerk, Hon. Thomas E. Hoffman, Illinois Circuit Court, Cook County, 1990 - Administrative law judge for Illinois agencies ### Education - John Marshall Law School (now University of Illinois Chicago School of Law) — J.D. (1990) - Rockford College — B.S. (1987) ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, N.D. Illinois, 2013-present - Board counsel, Northeast Illinois Commuter Railroad Corp., 2010-2013 - Administrative law judge, Illinois Drycleaners Environmental Response Trust Fund Council, 2005-2013 - Private practice, Chicago, Illinois, 1999-2013 - Co‐founder of Johnston Greene LLC (2008) - Private practice, Rockford, Illinois, 1992-1993 - Date of birth: 1965 - handling dispositive matters in civil cases and all felony criminal matters in the Western Division. - overseeing pretrial matters in civil and criminal cases - Birth place: Chicago ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8905371) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8905371) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8905371) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9232/iain-d-johnston/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9232/iain-d-johnston/) - [Judge Iain David Johnston](https://www.fjc.gov/node/8905371) - [Wikidata: Iain D. Johnston](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q84433275) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/iain-david-johnston", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/iain-david-johnston", "name": "Iain David Johnston | KnowJudges", "description": "Iain David Johnston, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.